Cric Crac

 

Georges Sylvain's Cric? Crac!: Fables de La Fontaine racontées par un montagnard haïtien et transcrites en vers créoles is a fascinating work. More of a reimagining or adaptation than a faithful translation, Sylvain Haitianizes La Fontaine while satirizing and reflecting upon Haitian society. While several stories or fables are recognizable, they usually have Haitian settings, include Haitian Creole proverbs, and allude to historical or social factors of Haiti life. For instance, setting some stories during the reign of Emperor Soulouque, using Bois-Verna as a setting, or referencing popular songs of the day throughout the fables. The best fables are those with direct implications to the state of Haitian society. For instance, the tale of the shepherd and his two goats who mistakenly thinks he can, through contraband and illegal trade at the port, become wealthy, learns the hard way to forsake a life of dishonesty. Clearly, the widespread practice of contraband was a recognized ill of Haitian society and the economy to Sylvain. 

Similarly, one of the last fables includes a farmer telling his three sons to work hard and maintain their farm, also passing on a story of buried treasure from colonial times. The sons dig and search persistently, but after failing to find it, continue to cultivate the land left by their father. The three brothers become prosperous and overtime, learn that the real treasure was land and their labor to make it prosperous. Similarly, the tale of the woman from Bois-Verna who dreams of selling milk and becoming a wealthy food vendor who dresses up for the balls in Bel-Air, learns the hard way to not get distracted by dreams when in the middle of her task. These vignettes and fables in Creole and French offer a poignant social commentary on the problems facing the country at the beginning of the 20th century. Of course, they are filtered through the lens of an elite male writer who borrows from the montagnard narrator and Haitian oral traditions to offer this perspective.

Other fables reference the belief that the poor or lower-classes should stay in their place or avoid the the corrupting influence the state, usually through animal fables. Unsurprisingly, there is a strong sense of justice as well as a conservative stance reflected in these tales. Ultimately, the lower-classes are supposed to know their place, be productive (useful, laborious), and stay out of politics or intrigue. Vodou, surprisingly, makes an appearance here or there or in the story when referencing music or popular customs. However, Sylvain seems ambivalent about these aspects of Haitian culture, perhaps simply including them because they were a real part of everyday culture in those times. Nonetheless, it is interesting to finally read this and think back on the lodyans of Lherisson and Antoine Innocent's novel. Written around the same time, each of these 3 authors wrote a "national" literature that reflected Haitian language, culture, spirituality, and worldview. Lherisson, despite not completely writing in Creole, was perhaps the most successful in terms of capturing the linguistic question while offering a more successful satirical look on the state of Haiti.